COVINGTON, Ga. — The Eastside Lady Eagles have been streaking as of late and notched their fifth straight victory against the Druid Hills Red Devils, 52-38.
The visiting Lady Red Devils played the Lady Eagles close in the early stages of the contest, but a dominant second quarter led to the home team pulling away with the game.
The Lady Eagles outscored their opponents 18-6 in the second quarter, and this strong play would give them some breathing room heading into the second half. Lady Eagles head coach Gladys King was happy with how her team played in that quarter after a sluggish start.
“It was really big because we started moving the ball around more, and we were kind of dragging that first quarter; I don’t know what it was,” King said. “After we started getting back, breaking the press and getting back to where we needed to be, it opened up our offense.”
The Lady Eagles significant halftime lead was much-needed as they only scored 4 points in the third quarter but still led by 7 heading into the fourth quarter.
With the Lady Eagles in early foul trouble in the second half, The visiting Lady Red Devils had multiple opportunities at the free-throw line to get back into the game, but they could not convert them.
Coach King knows that if the Lady Red Devils had shot better than 3-of-12 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, then this could have been a much different ball game.
“I think sometimes we get a little too aggressive on plays and make silly fouls,” King said. “It kind of got us in a bind because if they had hit their free throws, it could have been really, really close. It was a good win but an ugly win.”
Despite struggles with fouls, it was a great win to keep the momentum moving forward that was highlighted by excellent play all-around for the Lady Eagles.
Alysee Dobbs led the way in scoring with 16 points, and she was followed by Dasia Burgess, who finished with 12 points, and Ja’Miyra Smith, who finished with 10 points.
T’Niah Douglas also just missed the double-digit mark as she finished with 9 points. Missing from the leading scorers is starting point guard Lizzie Teasley, who King believes has value extending far beyond the stat sheet.
“What Lizzie brings to the floor is she handles the ball and does what I ask her to do,” King said. “I’m very pleased with Lizzie Teasley. I couldn’t ask for a better point guard.”
The Lady Eagles will need contributions from all over as they head into their next match against their cross-county rivals the Newton Lady Rams on Saturday, Dec. 21, and look to extend their winning streak to six games.
